There are well over one a billion Muslims in the world and their faith is increasingly in the spotlight. Rarely does a day go by without some mention of Muslims and Islam in the news and such mention is itself rarely positive. So what exactly is this faith all about? What do Muslims believe that makes them so different to the rest of us?

Perhaps the place to start is to look at what the very word “Islam” means. It is an Arabic word meaning submission to God. Another meaning for it is peace, it being implicit that true peace is only achieved when one submits to God, rather than to one’s own ego and desires. It is not a religion named after any individual or any particular region of the world. Muslims believe that the “true” religion is submitting oneself to God, nothing more and nothing less and that this belief is not dependent on individuals or regions. Muslim belief embraces the idea that from the very beginning all of God’s messengers preached this simple message of submission to the one God.

As for basic beliefs a prerequisite to being a Muslim is to believe in five so-called Articles of Faith: belief in One God; belief in God’s messages; belief in God’s messengers; belief in God’s angels; and belief in the Hereafter. Once a person is a Muslim there are five Pillars of Islam to adhere to. The declaration of faith or shahadah consists of proclaiming “I bear witness that there is no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God”. Praying five times a day, fasting each day for the month of Ramadan, paying the compulsory zakat ( poor due) and performing the Hajj pilgrimage at least once during your lifetime are the remaining four pillars of Islam.

Central to Islam is the role of the Quran. This is the holy book of the Muslims who believe it is the exact Word of God transmitted to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by the angel Gabriel. Muslims believe that the chain of God’s messengers ended with the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) because henceforth the Message itself would be safeguarded. Muslims believe this is a promise of God and further believe that it explains how the Quran exists today exactly as it was revealed 14 centuries ago. The Quran is a book of general guidance rather than consisting of rule after rule and it invites us to ponder on the wonders of creation, encouraging the use of our powers of reason. It also gives an insight into the relationship of Islam to other religions. The Quran states clearly, for example, that those of other faiths who believe in God and do good deeds will get their reward from God.

This encapsulates the true spirit of Islam, but sadly a spirit that is often overlooked, even by Muslims themselves. The fact remains that despite what many sections of the media may report and a minority of Muslims might exemplify, Islam as a religion is a continuation of the age-old theme of belief in the one God, coupled with serving and worshipping God by doing good deeds.